


silent night

by georgiehensley



Category: Shazam! (2019)
Genre: Billy Batson Feels, Bonding, Canon Jewish Character, Friendship, Gen, Holidays, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 21:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21327121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/georgiehensley/pseuds/georgiehensley
Summary: The one where Billy isolates himself on Christmas Eve, thinking of holidays spent with his mom.
Relationships: Billy Batson & Freddy Freeman
Comments: 1
Kudos: 68





	silent night

**Author's Note:**

> yeah i have no idea how to summarize this. basically billy gets sad around the holidays bc he's never had a family to celebrate with and while some of his foster homes celebrated christmas, he never joined in because he was raised jewish. same happens with the vasquez's but this time, freddy checks up on him.
> 
> surprisingly this has, like, 0 hints of shippy-ness so i didn't tag it as the ship. feel free to read it as a ship but i view it (in the context of this fic) as friendship only.
> 
> also yes i titled it after a christmas song bc it was listening to holiday music that inspired this and i couldn't think of any appropriate hanukkah song lyrics.

It was Christmas Eve, and Billy was sat alone in his room. He spent almost the entire day there, only coming out for meals. He fell mute, saying nothing as his foster siblings and parents chatted around him. 

Now he was back in his room, having ditched Rosa's offer of sugar cookies and hot chocolate for dessert. He sat on his top bunk, staring down at his hands as he fingered the Star of David pendant that hung from his silver chain. He used to wear the necklace when he was little, as a reminder to be proud of his faith. It didn't fit him anymore, though, but he still found comfort in holding it from time to time. It reminded him of home, or, rather, the fantasy of home he'd spent so much of his life convincing himself actually existed.

There was a soft knock on the door and Billy's head popped up. He hid the necklace in his fist, the pointed ends of the star digging into the palm of his hand.

"Hey," Freddy said as he stepped into the room, his crutch clicking against the hardwood floors. "We're gonna watch  _ The Grinch _ soon. Darla picked it. You're welcome to join us, if you want. And there are still some cookies left--ooh, whatcha got there?"

Billy tilted his head in confusion, before he glanced down to see that some of the silver chain slipped out of his fist. He scrambled to hide it again, shoving it into the pocket of his red sweatshirt. 

He lifted his head again when he heard Freddy opening his desk drawer, pulling something out before he turned to face Billy again.

"If it's a Star of David necklace, I got one too," he said, holding it up so Billy could see. "It might even be the same one! My parents gave it to me when I was little. It doesn't fit anymore, but sometimes it makes a cool bracelet."

"How'd you know it was a Star of David necklace?" Billy asked, pulling his back out of his pocket and fiddling with it again.

"I figured," Freddy said. "I mean, you were the last to join in when we decorated the tree, and you seemed pretty lost with all the other Christmas traditions--"

"I just never really celebrated the holidays before," Billy said. "Christmas  _ or _ Hanukkah. Not since I was little." _ With my mom _ .

"Well, Mary, Darla, Pedro, and Eugene all came from Christian families, so, majority rules, I guess," Freddy says. "Rosa and Victor's group home was mixed and Victor was raised Jewish, but I think everyone's been more comfortable celebrating Christmas."

Billy fell silent again. 

Freddy sighed, stepping back towards his desk and pulling other things out of his drawer. He turned back to Billy, who caught a glimpse of something wooden and a handful of something gold.

"Wanna play dreidel?" he asked.

"I've never played," Billy answered. 

"Neither have I," Freddy said with a smile. "I just like to watch it spin and snack on some gelt."

Billy cracked a smile. "Can we forget the dreidel and just have some gelt instead?"

Freddy grinned. "Batson, you've read my mind."

In the end, Billy joined Freddy on his bottom bunk while they split the bag of gelt. Somehow, Freddy had managed to grab a large bag of it from the mall that had thirty-six coins total. Billy had never seen a bag so big before. Freddy just joked that this meant they were rich.

Instead of going down to watch the movie with the rest of the family, the two boys stayed upstairs, reading a Superman comic together as they snacked on their chocolate.

("You know Superman is Jewish?")

"He's an alien, Freddy."

"Yeah, and? Apparently he's circumcised. I read it on a blog once."

"Of course you did.")

When the movie ended, Rosa and Victor opened the door, only to find Billy and Freddy asleep in Freddy's bunk, the Superman comic lying open in their laps, scraps of gold wrapping scattered across the comforter. They both smiled fondly at the sight.

"Goodnight, boys," Rosa whispered as she shut the light and pulled the door closed.

"And happy Hanukkah," Victor added.

**Author's Note:**

> i tried with that ending lol
> 
> also, fun fact: hanukkah actually falls over christmas this year! christmas eve isn't the first night, but it is definitely a night of hanukkah this year (i think it's night 3 or 4).


End file.
